Google is likely to announce a new 3D view of the Moon in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing on July 20.

The Mountain View Chocolate Factory announced plans to hold a press conference that day in Washington, DC to discuss "a very special announcement about the newest addition to Google Earth."

Moon walker #2 Buzz Aldrin will speak at the event as well as Man on the Moon author Andrew Chaikin. Short of Google releasing hand-to-hand combat tips courtesy of Aldrin, it's pretty clear what the company has brewing.

NASA recently launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has been happily beaming home compelling new snaps of luna firma. The orbiting probe will also be able to provide a 3D map of the moon's surface which could be used to complement the ageing overhead shots that Google Moon currently offers.

The company obviously has a very friendly relationship with the US space agency, so Google getting hold of the data isn't exactly a stretch. NASA even let's Google cool their jets at the Ames Research Center just a few miles from Google's headquarters — and by the way, Ames just happens to manage LRO's twin mission, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS).

Furthermore, Google already provides a 3D view of Mars through Google Earth 5.0. The planets, as they say, are aligned for a three dimensional peek at our local orbiting harsh mistress. ®

Related stories

• Update NASA iceberg-finder prangs into Moon's south pole (9 October 2009)
• NASA fingers crash site for moon-impacting probe (11 September 2009)
• IFA Sony jumps on the 3D TV gravy train (2 September 2009)
• Channel 4 to go 3D (21 August 2009)
• Sky switches on 3D TV channel in 2010 (30 July 2009)
• Google lights up Moon on Apollo 11 anniversary (20 July 2009)
• NASA orbiter returns first shots of Apollo moon sites (17 July 2009)
• Google not liable for defamatory search snippets (17 July 2009)
• Apollo 11 moon mission reincarnated as website (13 July 2009)
• Stargazers spot oldest supernova yet (9 July 2009)
• Vulture Central unleashes RegPad™ (8 July 2009)
• Lunar orbiter beams back first Moon snaps (6 July 2009)
• NASA reacquires original Moon landing footage (29 June 2009)
• Buzz Aldrin weighs into NASA (28 June 2009)
• Salty Saturn moon plumes suggest stuff of life (25 June 2009)
• NASA moon-attack probe beams home first lunar shots (23 June 2009)
• The Moon? We're going nowhere, says NASA official (19 June 2009)
• NASA unleashes Moon-attack probe (19 June 2009)
• NASA bumps lunar 'bots for Endeavour launch (15 June 2009)
• Japanese lunar orbiter to go out with a bang (9 June 2009)